Microsoft releases interactive Insects 4K HDR video demo for Xbox One X

Want to show off some of your new Xbox One X’s extreme video and audio capabilities, in demo form, for friends and family?  Or just maybe to give your 4K + HDR + spatial audio-capable home entertainment system a workout?  Well Microsoft has released an interactive “Insects”  video demo app for the Xbox One X which will is now available to download starting right now.

The Insects video experience allows Xbox One X owners to toggle on and off a number of advanced video and audio features including Ultra HD 4K, HDR and spatial audio.  Even those with a 1080p set will get to witness the impressive supersampling from the 4K HDR rendered source.

Below is a trailer and set of screens showing off the demo… but obviously you can’t get the full effect in streaming video or static screenshot form.

Insects: An Xbox One X Enhanced Experience trailer:

Insects: An Xbox One X Enhanced Experience screens:

When you pick up your Xbox One X on November 7, you?ll experience many of the latest cutting-edge technology features that will be focused in gaming for years to come like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range, or HDR as it?s better known, as well as Spatial Audio. To help showcase these new features to you, even if you may not have the 4K display to run, we developed an interactive video known as ?Insects.?

Originally developed by the Xbox Advanced Technology Group for game developers, ?Insects? was designed to help teams easily see and hear just how the dramatic the differences can be between the various technologies.

Over time, the team realized how fun and effective the experience was, and so we?re making it publicly available the same day that Xbox One X launches, on November 7 to be viewed on your console. ?Insects? will be available to download from the Microsoft Store on your console.

If you don?t have an Xbox One X to experience this interactive video, we have included a variety of screenshots here that showcase all the elements of the video to give you a sense of what features like HDR and 4K bring to your games.

On Xbox One X, the beauty of ?Insects? is the option to toggle between the various formats. Once you?ve completed the initial Guided Tour, you can, at any time, turn 4K on or off, as well as HDR and Spatial Audio. You can also pause the experience and zoom in on various elements.

Better yet, you can even change the time of day and alter the colors of the ladybug and flowers, all while toggling 4K, HDR, and Spatial Audio on or off to your heart?s delight. Also, if you download Insects on an Xbox One X and display it on a 1080p display, switching 4K mode on and off will showcase super-sampling in all its beauty.

If you really want to dig into the details, you can even use Pixel Highlighting to show you what areas of the scene are being affected by HDR or Wide Color Gamut. We think you?ll find it remarkable to see the detail pop into focus when you turn 4K back on, or see the range of detail and color when you do the same with HDR. Our personal favorite is switching HDR on and off at night and looking at the moon. It?s such a simple, but great illustration of the technology.

We hope you enjoy the ?Insects? video experience on Xbox One X and we can?t wait for you to feel true power when the world?s most powerful console launches on November 7.